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Understanding the Gospel Message Paul’s sermon in Acts 17:22-34 (read it) helps us to understand God as Creator, Father, and Judge. It also allows us to see our need for repentance from sin and salvation. “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live
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The Gospel Must Matter to Elders The Gospel matters. That’s because the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is what makes people Christians. Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). The church is built
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Men Who are Examples in Love If elders do not love those they shepherd, they will not shepherd them as Jesus intended. Love is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), a command of Jesus (John 13:34), evidence of discipleship (John 13:35), proof of being in the family of God (1 John 3:10), and most
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Men Who Are Worth Imitating Paul told the church in Corinth, “Imitate me as I imitate Jesus” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Elders serve as the lead disciplers and examples of spiritual growth in the local church. They should be men who love the Word, prayer, worship, ministry, serving, giving, communion, baptism, fellowship, and all that is
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Elders of the local church must be men of great Christlike character. They must be men who can easily be recognized as “those who have been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). Elders must be men who walk in step (Galatians 5:25) and are being filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). When it boils down to
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Both Timothy and Titus are told that an elder must be faithful to his wife. Paul said they should be “one women men” who believe marriage is a covenant partnership with their wife for a lifetime. God created marriage (Genesis 2:24). If the church body views an elder’s marriage as unstable, it can cause them
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Paul told Timothy that an elder should not be greedy. Paul told Titus not to pursue dishonest gain. Peter said that an elder should serve eagerly, not for money. The message is clear that an elder does not lead the church for financial gain. Elders should be generous, a mark of those in the early
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Just as Paul mentioned the need for elders to be self-controlled, temperate, sober-minded, and disciplined, he also identified specific areas that are contrary to these qualities. Paul tells Timothy and Titus that elders should not be given to drunkenness. The Old and New Testaments are clear that drunkenness is a sin (Proverbs 20:1; Ephesians 5:18).
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The New Testament lists explicitly several key qualifications for eldership in the local church. The absence of these qualities in a man would disqualify or delay them from being considered or becoming an elder. Two Scriptures written by the Apostle Paul to pastors in the local church help us understand the primary qualifications or prerequisites
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1 Peter 5:1-4 “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest
stephen R Harrison 